In the previous post Charname confronted Caelar on the destroyed Crossing of the Trade Way. The two heroes traded words, but neither would back down. The party therefore continued their march on Dragonspear, delayed as it was by the destruction of the crossing and forced rerouting to Boareskyr Bridge (thanks Jayvis). With the arduous ten-day march complete the Fist-backed party set up camp in a thickly-wooded forest, just south of Boareskyr Bridge.

A cutscene fires showing Caelar Argent writing a letter of condolence, and Priest Hephernaan flexing some influence over her.

Corporal Bence Duncan announces Caelar's taking of Boareskyr Bridge and her current besiegement of Bridgefort (Important Events: Find the bridge and scout out the fort and Crusader camp). Both he and Corwin advise caution in scouting the immediate vicinity, with Bence advising Charname to purchase FYRE ARROZ TO KEEL DAH TROLZ. (Acid also works, poison does not.) The noble Fist Paladin then strolls over to a tent and orders "Fist Goldbuckler" to perform her drills. Skie steps out, knocks Bence flat on his ass, and then steps back in to continue her nap.

Note: At this point Tsolak's Messenger will appear to reward those who allied with the vampire in the Ikros & Isabella quest. Refer to the previous post for details.

Resting fires a second dream sequence, this one featuring Irenicus & Imoen.

Lieutenant Otilda distrusts the half-orc "Irregulars" and requests you deal with them. Rend, Kava and Farrl are found just a stone's throw to the east of camp. Take your pick:

Best Rend in a duel. Rend will tell you his story; how he is here to slay the half-orc leader of the Blinding White battalion, Barghest. You and Corwin will learn that Barghest holds Boareskyr Bridge; that the Blinding White recruits are trained by a dwarf, Lieutenant Kharm; and that this trio of orcs pose no threat to the expedition. Return to Otilda and put her mind at ease for +6,000 Exp.

Bring Kava some ale. This is a lil' more involved because it requires access to the Crusader Camp (entry to which requires non-trivial quest fulfillment - covered in Part VII). Loot the Tepid Mug of Ale from the camp (AR BD2000: x=2690, y=2250) and deliver it to Kava to learn her and Farrl's story; but basically, they're just trying to get back into Bridgefort to find a stash they left behind there. Return to Otilda for +6,000 Exp.

Provoke Rend to violence (or force-attack the trio). The half-breeds quickly surrender and vacate the area. Return to Otilda for +6,000 Exp & 105 GP. Note: The trio may be slain in all cases, but you may need to immobilize them prior to attacking. Rend, Kava, Farrl (+420 Exp ea): Two-Handed Sword +1, Bastard Sword +1, Large Shield +1, Cat, (Tepid Mug of Ale).

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(Completed Quest: The Irregulars)..

C r a p t o K i l l

The Troll Claw Forest hosts several tailored trashmob encounters, some of which respawn with variation (after a day or so, I think). As you can see there is quite a lot of crap in need of killin', though none yield more than trivial loot.

Party members with Infravision (e.g, M'Khiin) will spot an unlit torch in this cavern (x=1360, y=430). Lightning the torch with the tinderbox reveals a corpse and a chest to loot: Medium Shield +1, Locket of Embracing(Caster Level +1 [Cleric & Paladin], +2 first circle divine spell slots), Enchantment scroll, Emerald x2, Wand of Fear (5 charges).

Below left: the entrance to the troll cave, littered with the corpses of passers-by.

Below right: the scorched remains of the troll-pack, courtesy of Dynaheir's Fireball..

M i n o r S t u f f

—In the thick woods to the east of the troll cave is a small family of refugees
trying to make their way to Baldur's Gate. Cough up some chump
change to help them on their journey; it won't break the bank (-10 GP).
—Search the corpse east of the Irregulars(x=3900, y=3770) to find 122 GP and the Glimmer of Hope +2 (mace, THAC0 +2, dmg 1d6+3, Wis +1, on-hit Bless 10%).

—Several bandit scrubs will ambush the party just to the north, fleeing when they catch sight of the party. Bandit x5 (+65 Exp ea), Bandit (+15 Exp).Loot: Fire Arrows, Melf's Acid Arrow scrolls.

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C o m p a n i o n — B r e a k d o w n

J a h e i r a & V o g h i l n t h e V a s t

En route to the northeastern exit point you will bump into Jaheira & Voghiln, two companions that are not enforced as a pair. Jaheira informs you that Khalid is trapped in the besieged fort to the north (Journal: Bridgefort Defenders).

The Harper is tempting due to her druidic repertoire; most notably, her fifth circle that includes Ironskins, Insect Plague, and the exclusive Harper's Call: a spell that functions as per Raise Dead except that it inflicts 10 damage on Jaheira when she casts it. Jaheira gains +2 second circle and +1 third circle spell slots if you gift her theTome of Understanding(x3) found in the original campaign. Gift her the Ring of Holiness in addition and she will sport a total of seven first circle slots, seven second, five third, three fourth and one fifth.

You know, it's nice to have a waylay zone with sub-ARs, however trivial they might be; and I thought the treatise was a good read. Anyway, continue on to the Bridge!

B o a r e s k y r B r i d g e — P e r i m e t e r

(AR BD2000)

The gate to the Crusader Camp is heavily guarded by grunts, and the Crusader Sergeant will not grant you entry until you prove yourself worthy to the Half-orc head honcho, The Barghest. Accept the sergeant's request to seek out the nephew of Lieutenant Kharm - Keherrem - whose squad went missing in a ruined temple to the east, while searching for a wardstone (Quest: The Missing Patrol).

This wardstone activates the teleport circle to the northeast,
breaching the defenses of Bridgefort: a high-walled fort with its
drawbridge raised by the besieged Bridgefortians. While a frontal
assault on the Crusader Camp is certainly a viable option to break
Barghest's siege, you will miss out on some content by doing so. Therefore, in Part VII, coming up, I will head to the ruined temple in the Forest of Wyrms
to search for Keherrem and the wardstone; after which, I will cover
the breaking of the siege and the interesting events that lead up to Chapter Ten!

15 comments:

In the troll cave you explore during the random encounter, if you touch the pond with a character who has infravision a third area will open up with some more trolls to kill and some loot (just gems, IIRC).

I'm not sure about the Unknown thing, but it's happened once before to someone. Maybe try joining my site if it happens again.

Story-wise, the campaign seems passable so far. Then again, I play RPGs more for their combat and questing than for their storylines, so I'm usually pretty EZ to please. The inconsistency in the quality of writing and some of the OOC dialogue has miffed me a lil', though.

In the first troll cave (not random encounter) behind the hidden stone door there is another "infravision" area where a character can uncover a corpse + chest with some valuables. For me it contained gems, medium shield +1, wand of fear, and the unique Amulet of Embracing (+1 caster level Cleric/Paladin, memorize 2 extra level 1 Divine spells).

I saw this post after I had been there so I went back. I got a popup saying that my infravision had detected an unlit torch in the north east corner. I moused over and saw the circle icon, cilcked it and it lit up . I guess that is what the tinderbox I found earlier was for.

In the camp, when "Fist Goldbuckler" refuses to do her drills, I got to step in and convince her to do her work. I have no idea why.. Charisma 18? Or could it have something to do with some choice I have made earlier perhaps?/JE

For the quest "the irregulars", if the protagonist is also a half-orc, then Kava will talk without the ale. My half-orc has high charisma and high rep though, so the precise requirement need to be tested.

If you attack the initial gate guards and hold out for a bit, a contingent of Flaming Fist will back you up, and you can crush the camp by force. Kind of awesome. I used a LOT of the spell Horror to cause fear in my enemies, and mopped them up.

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